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The War of Four: The Alliance of Blood and Shadows
The War of Four: The Alliance of Blood and Shadows, Act I The Meet! Reunion of the Best kind "Ah...Ah...ACHOO!" Hyōryū sneezed aloud, clinging tightly to her additional black winter cloak as their "transport" the Dragonbird, flew them over the cloudy covered snowy peaks of Aether, homing in on their destination after a good day's flight already. It was only a week ago when Angelika gave Hyōryū notice that she along with Oliver were to accompany her to the Meet with the Black Blood Sect. Having never been to a Meet before, Hyōryū listened long and hard to Angelika's explanation as how the history of V-14's very existence stemmed back to the Sect, as well as its streams of provisitional jobs and reccommendations, as well as the fact that Enrico is a agent of the Sect and has been for a very long time. Now, after deciding to use the Dragonbird again due to the predicament of the Gotei 13 and the Inner Circle on the look-out for them, they began their long and agonizing flight towards their Meet destination, which this time is at its usual and oldest founding location. Aether, the Land that bordered the Cracked Valley and the mountains that bordered the Soul Society's borders and the glacier vallies nearby. Their flight had been agonizingly long, and cold as they got closer to Aether's mountains, guiding through the cold and wet clouds that held frozen water particles almost constant, creating a perfect camoflauge for those who didn't know the way to where they were going. "I-I-I d-didn't know w-w-we were go-going t-to the North P-Pole, boss!" Hyōryū tried to joke as her teeth chattered, sitting behind Angelika at the farthest most position of their transport's saddle, with Oliver in front and Angelika atypically in the middle. "S-s-shows you t-to wear l-less skimpy c-c-clothing, doesn't it?" Despite her speaking to Angelika, Oliver was the first one to retort back to her. However, despite his taunting words, it was clear that he was suffering just as much as she was despite wearing a heavy coat over his usual clothing. Angelika was breathing steadily, the only sign of her own discomfort in the cold was her own slight shivering. However, her voice maintained a steady pattern. "I did inform you that it would be moderately chilly during our flight path..." She answered, holding her arms close to her body. "If you're that cold, you should have brought a much heavier winter attire." "I-I-It'd we-wear me d-d-down when I-I hav-have to fight, b-b-boss," she protested, holding the coat over her, burrying her face within its confines to the point of almost muffling her voice underneath its heavy clothing garments, "and I-I di-didn't kn-know we'd actually travel through the m-m-mountains to get to the "unnaturally" w-w-warm Meet area, wh-which y-y-you still remain sketchy on d-d-details!" Angelika smiled amusedly, turning her head so that she could look over her shoulder at Hyōryū. "Well..." She began, chuckling a little. "If I told you every little thing, then you wouldn't be able to have a good learning experience considering you've never been to one of these meets before..." "F-f-fuck, I n-need a cigarette..." Gritting his teeth, Oliver reached into his own coat pockets in an attempt to look for one. "Hyō, you happen to have a lighter on you?" Hyōryū chattered her teeth with a bland look on her face, comically pouting her lips as she heard the question, "D-D-Do y-y-you h-honestly b-believe y-you c-could get a-a l-light with these w-w-winds?! H-Has the c-c-cold frozen y-y-your brain a-a-already?!" "I c-can t-try, d-damn it!!" Oliver snapped, one of his eyes twitching as he continued to fumble for a cigarette. "Now where the f-fuck did I-- AHA!" He immediately whipped out what he was looking for, twirling one in his fingertips but making sure to keep it so that it wouldn't get blown away by the winds. "G-got one!" "S-So do I," Hyōryū bit down on her lips to keep her teeth from chattering, but had a cigarette already wedged within the side of her lips while looking smug, "n-now...I have...this...lighter," she unveils a cigarette lighter she kept hidden within her cloak, using her own body heat to keep it from freezing the fluids within, before she began sparking it, attempting to get a flame near her cigarette. After the 11th attempt, a throaty chuckle of victory came from her as she got her cigarette lit and allowed a enriched puff of smoke to enter her mouth before exiting her nose, "Need...a...light...partner?" Angelika could only roll her eye, turning her head away from them when Oliver turned to look over at Hyōryū. His grin grew even wider, and he stopped twirling his own cigarette. "Sweet!" With that exclamation, he extended his own cigarette to Hyōryū's light. "Thanks, pally!" "Nice to see you too actually getting along for once..." Their boss commented. "He...wouldn't...stop...whining...if...I didn't," Hyōryū said while extending her lip-locked lit cig towards Oliver's, even as he precariously reached around their boss to do it, she successfully shared enough heat to light the paper-rolled source of delusionary warmth. Once again, Angelika was curious enough to look over her shoulder again to see what was going on. The scene she was introduced to was rather... cute, to say the least. Instead of reaching with just his arm, Oliver had kept his own cigarette in his mouth out of the fear that the flame would go out quicker if he didn't. He was giving a slight glare towards Hyōryū for her comment, but chose to say nothing towards it. It looked like a kid sharing a scarf with a crush he had. It made her chuckle a little. "Be thankful Anton wasn't here. God knows what he'd say about this little exchange..." "W-wait a minute, what--?!" Oliver's eyes widened in surprise and alarm, not out of embarrassment, but out of the thought that he may have fallen for some sort of joke that had missed his mind. He quickly pulled himself away, directing his shocked gaze and quirked eyebrow towards his boss. "What?!" Hyōryū spoke out loud, almost losing her cigarette in the process, as a crimson blush ran up her neck and uncomfortably warming her face, albeit slightly welcome considering the circumstances, "y-y-you're not...we're not...I-I mean...errrrrmmm...forget about it please!" Her face steamed as she bowed her head, her bangs hiding her eyes as she uncharacteristically felt very embarassed by the joke tossed her way by her own boss. She wished they were there right about now...to at least save face. "Ha ha ha ha ha~!!!" This earned a hearty set of laughter from Angelika, and she turned her eye away from Hyōryū. "Relax, Frau Fūsoku! It was only a joke!" She said lightly, turning back to her frontward view. "I wouldn't have thought you would get so flustered over something so trivial..." "...yeah..." After giving Hyōryū a questioning glance, Oliver turned his own attention to the front. His eyes widened in surprise, however, and he leaned towards the left and pointed below him. "Hey, boss. Is that the place you were talkin' about?" Hyōryū's blush receded as she looked past the thinning veil of clouds, behelding a most magnificent sight. They arrived at their location, would be putting it mildly. Descending the usual pattern of stocky, rigorous snow-capped mountains was a sheet of ice that could pass off as a natural valley, despite it beind at mid-level with the mountains themselves, with deep trenches that had been mined out thousands of years ago and has such set a rythym of manual labor. Their location for descent was a beautifully enamored, obsidian-white glittering ice fortress, a number of speckled figures around it showed its vastness and true scope of his height. The architecture truly rivaled anything of the current age, and a faint trace of a ancient underground ice-cracked highway could be seen trenched towards another smaller, yet not in the least breathtaking as its bigger counterpart. Needless to say, the chosen place to have the Meet, was not only out of the way, but also gaining in surprising warmth compared to the rest of the peaks that howled with icy winds and constant snow-packed clouds. "Excellent..." With a few clicks of the tongue, Angelika prompted the bird to change direction and descend towards the facility. "I see it hasn't changed much since the last time I visited it..." She muttered to herself. "They must've been keeping it monitored closely..." Hyōryū whistled out loud as they descended towards a glowing dotted landscape, reminiscing as a makeshift ice-packed landing pad. A few other modes of transportation were also gathered, such as a mechanical avarice of a flying machine...a few other birds closely kin to the Dragonbird, and a handful of dark robed guards monitoring the steeds and vehicles at all times. One particular robed figure waved them down to a empty area for them to land, with makeshift tents and heaters set up for the steeds to reside in as well as other vehicles, making a temporary, aerial camoflaughed hangar. With Angelika's directing, it didn't take long for the bird to descend completely, landing in the empty space they were given. "And here is our stop, ladies and gentlemen!" Oliver exclaimed, letting the bird touch down before slowly sliding off of the bird's back. "Please take any possessions with you on the way out. Thank you!" Hyōryū dropped off the bird, and wrapped her cloak, finding it surprisingly less chilling than the atmosphere they had to brave earlier. "Damn, its f'ing vacation compared to our ride here...what the hell do they use to make this place so much warmer?!" "It's all a matter of good technology." Angelika slipped a hand into her coat pocket, reaching in to pull out her ID in order to confirm her status as a Meet member as she explained. "Because of the requirement of these meetings to be secretive, there is obviously a heavy monitoring of the few locations they could be secured. Each one is suited to their environment as perfectly as possible while still retaining a comfortable feeling for residents. All in all, I think you'll find it quite cozy." "I hope so..." Oliver muttered, moving his smoking cigarette in his mouth and looking around. Somehow, it had not blown out - something he was both amazed at and thankful for. "At the very least, it better be good than the bars we're stuck with in the Rukongai." "Oh, trust me... it'll be much better than those..." "I wonder if they're as good as those spill that Shito dude told you he was going to treat you, eh Oliver? You maneater you!" Hyōryū grinned slyly smoking her also unblown cigarette, puffing small circles of smoke as she walked alongside her masculine companion. "And now you're calling me gay." Oliver deadpanned, his arms hanging at his sides and his shoulders drooping moderately. "Oh no, it wasn't bad enough that there's an increasing chain of individuals questioning and or threatening the existence of my testicles, but now my sexuality's being taken into consideration!" A sarcastic smile was on his face, and he made emphasizing gestures with one of his hands. "What's next? Am I suddenly going to become a girl and grow massive tits?" "You sound as if these accusations are a daily thing for you." Angelika commented lightly, stopping at the entrance of the place. "More like a fuckin' conspiracy!" Oliver countered. "First there's the tsundere, a.k.a., Hyōryū, which I've come to expect. Then, Shadō - I repeat, Shadō, of all people - starts to retort with the exact same shit! Then, there were those two whores of Omega Team, and finally Yajū. All of them seem to take fondly of standing straight, folding their arms across their chest, and saying "Show me your balls, Mr. Holmes, for I do not believe they exist!" I ask you, what in the hell decided to spur this particular taunt onward, huh?" Hyōryū snickered as they walked towards the magnanomiously large, crystalic doors that almost took akin to a shimmering ray of obsidian and transparent white, constantly shifting in rythmitic pulses, "Well...maybe its the fact you're a douche bag and you can't shut you're freaking trap to save your life? That usually begs you for the worst kinds of attention, y'know?" "Oh, I'm sorry..." Oliver drawled. "The last time I did that, I ended up being mocked and insulted for it. So I kind of have a history with standing around and being quiet..." Meanwhile, a pair of robed men flanked a beautifully fair skinned woman, whom bore a ceremonial dress as she walked towards the group of V-14. She smiled softly and bowed her head, "Welcome back, Angelika Hartmann. It has been sometime. I don't know if you recall, but my name is Athena Karoi, the envoy and the attendant of the Keeper, Veritas. It has been sometime since we last seen each other," she then glanced briefly at her two subordinates with a sparkling, bright curious look before looking back to the eyepatched woman cordially, "how has your journey faired?" "It was quite cold..." Angelika admitted, tilting her chin up a little and looking Athena in the eyes. "But I'm glad that the heaters are still in place. All in all, our journey went without any problems." She smiled, extending a hand towards the woman. "It's good to see your face again after so long, Frau Karoi." "Please, you can call me Athena," Athena said after taking her hand and clasping it with her other, the two hands were quite warm as she momentarily brushed them in a friendly manner, "you should know you don't need to be formal around friends and allies, Angelika." The German woman closed her eyes and chuckled a little, somewhat amused at the statement. "I know. But it's just the way I grew up. You can't help but keep something you've grown up with all your life, after all..." She answered, slowly pulling her hand away from Athena's and returning it into her pocket. "I hope you don't mind it too much..." Peeking around her shoulder, Oliver curiously eyed the woman and gave a whistle. "Nice duds." He commented. "That a uniform for your group, or something just for the meet?" "You're the'' Captain of Subtlety'', Oliver," Hyōryū muttered sarcastically with a blank look on her face, sideglancing him as she did so with slitted eyes. Athena smiled, nodding her head in understanding to Angelika, "Good habits like that are hard to break, for that I don't fault you for it, Angelika." She then turned her attention to her two subordinates, a sudden twinkle flashed in her eyes as she emphasized with a wave of her hands down her dress, "This is the proper ceremonial dress that every of Veritas' Second wears during the Meet. While I do have more flexible attire available, its always been traditional to stick to the ways our Sect has always asked of us." This caused Oliver to give out another whistle. "Good to know that there's still people that prefer to stick to tradition.." He commented, grinning a little. "Makes me jealous that we came casually--" "All right, Oliver..." Angelika said sarcastically, rolling her eye. "You can talk to your new friend after we're done and done with this..." She ignored the snort that came from him, turning her tone to Athena. "If you would, please take us to the meet location, I wish not to keep anyone waiting." "Oh!" Athena fist-palmed with owlish-blinking eyes, comically announcing, "I was going to tell you...you're the last ones here! Must have slipped my mind," she laughed sheepishly before turning around with a subtle flourishing of her dress, followed by her guards and now the V-14 representatives. "Wait," Hyōryū suddenly asked Angelika with a low tone with interest, "just how many groups are here at the Meets usually? In terms of mass, are we talking about more than the Central 46 judges, or are we talking about the size of the Gotei 13's Captains?" "I cannot say for sure..." Angelika said simply, closing her eyes and breathing a heavy sigh. "But I can guess. With the potency of strength, size would be comparable to the likes of the Gotei 13 Protection Squads, if not greater. And that's not limited to just the Captains..." "We're not a purely military organized group," Athena said admittedly, allowing herself to turn her head so she could sideglance them as she led the way gracefully, "but because of the wide array of exotic, skilled, and unique assets each group brings to the Sect its what makes us stronger than any ordinary army or police force ever could be. This fact has been recorded within the Keeper's Sanguis Scripturae, as it was said that the last time the Sect gathered for a joint-war effort, the entire Border Patrol Force of Yūrei's Police Force as well as even the demi-god Guardians were nearly wiped out within a single day." "No foolin'?!" Oliver asked incredulously, quirking both his brows and widening his eyes. That very fact sent a shudder down his spine. To know that Yūrei's Police Force had suffered so many casualties in a single day was quite a revelation to hear, and it made him all the more grateful he was on their good side. "When proper strategy is employed, even a fighting force of a few can decimate a incredible force of many, Oliver," Athena said with a knowing smile, winking at him before turning her head back forwards, "I've heard great tales of how V-14's coordination and combined strength, emphasizes the very based aspects of what the Sect can accomplish." "You can thank our boss mostly on that end," Hyōryū pointed a thumb proudly to Angelika, smiling toothily, "she's the best bad ass of our group, and cause she knows where to point us in the proper direction." "A master of the sword can only operate to her fullest with the actual weapon..." Angelika commented, lightly shrugging her shoulders. "Any all credit goes to all contributors. Still, it's nice to see V-14 compares to a core aspect of the Sect." "Of course it does," Athena said as they turned left, towards a wide open crystalline corridor of shimmering black and whites, a large mineral-carved door stood there with old ancient runes laid over the front of it in a rectangular pattern according to the twenty foot tall gate, "you wouldn't be part of the Sect if you represented it in one form or another." Hyōryū let out a low whistle, that inadvertently echoed through the hallowed halls of the crystal citadel they traversed in, "That is a pretty big, pretty door." "Whatever's inside must be ten times cooler..." Oliver chortled, grinning from ear to ear. Athena stood at the base of the door, with the robed guards standing back a pace ahead of the others, as she graced her hands against the crystalline-obsidian surface. She then backed up, clasping her hands in what appeared to be a prayer, speaking aloud in a chant, "Oh those of the sacred trust given to me, hear my words! Through the abyss rises the tainted dragon, who roars out the unknowable voice to all those with ignorance! Through the ice rises the fire of a undying will, from which blood was split from the first! In the name of that trust, I awaken you!" THRUUUUUUM! A low reverberation emanated throughout crystalline tower doors, all of which caused the runes to glow and almost...hum in response of her prayer. And slowly but surely, the door opened silently without creaking or cracking as other doors would, sliding open for all the onlookers to see. Within the room was a near pitch black surface that represented the flooring, which seemed to ripple like water yet was as solid as any other surface within the citadel they resided in. The walls rose up in archaic carved symbols, with runic symbols emblazoning them. The chamber itself was wide and massive, with a rectangular walkways that allowed anyone to observe the Meet as well as observe the ancient symbols engraved within the crystalline-obsidian surfaces. Within the top of the spire-like ceiling was a series of shimmering lights from pure blue crystals, that created a natural and aesthic light to shine down on the middle recess of the chamber, where a rectangular, center hollowed table resided with obsidian mineralized chairs were, each with a three meter distance from each seat, numbering in over forty two seats in all. Around sixteen to seventeen of these seats were already occupied, all of which in various postures and overshadows of individuals that occupied them in their own way and disposition. "Welcome," Athena said after dramatically raising her hands to the air and twirled her dress-garbed body to face the members of V-14 fully as she backed up into the amazingly immaculately created chamber, "to the Hallowed Hall of Shadows." Needless to say, Oliver was rendered speechless. His eyes dilated, and his mouth fell open at the sight at the area. The incredible lightning as well as the decorative symbols and water-like floor. "Holy...shit..." Was all he could say, nearly rendered frozen to the spot where he was standing. The look of the place more than made up for the fact that it was named "Hallowed Hall" - a trait that could be easily mocked. "Is this where the good bad guys go when they die? I feel like I'm in heaven right now," Hyōryū said in bemusement as her own eyes bugged out with comical drama from the amazing splendor displayed around them from within, that almost made the entire structure outside seem like a mere canvas for a masterful painting within. Angelika herself gave an impressed whistle, her own expression conveying her composed amazement. "Saying "welcome" wouldn't feel so necessary in such a high-quality room like this...." She said lightly, being the second to step inside after Athena. "Its been the duty of countless Seconds of the Keeper to do so, regardless of the magnificent splendor our ancestral predecessors made here," Athena explained with a understanding smile as she walked towards the liquid "carved" stairs that sloped towards the rounded eliptical center of the room, where all the others of the Sect have gathered and waited, "though I can understand through the majority's perspective, the words seem more hollow than necessary for such a work of art such as this." "What's with the liquid?" Oliver furrowed his brows and frowned as he fell in step with his colleagues, his eyes drifting towards the water-like substance. "Sure, I know this place would be better looking awesome, but I'm just getting the feeling that something like this would be pointless unless it was for other reasons..." He stopped momentarily to kick at one of the steps, just to see what it would do. CRACK! The substance, despite its fluid appearance on the surface, was incredibly dense to the incredibly inept impact, reflecting the force like any harder mineral would, except harder than anyone would expect. "That, Mr. Holmes, is more of a security system the Hallowed Hall ''has than an actually insignificant floor," Athena said, stifling some of her laughter at the scene Oliver made the failed attempt kick, "all those who step within this room when ''the Second ''clears them as comrades or allies, keeps the floor and walls from...well...evicting you out in a very unpleasant manner." The blonde quirked an eyebrow, lowering his foot and silently thanking himself for not having kicked too hard, as he was sure the liquid would've cracked his toes. "Oh... security system... right..." He muttered, rolling his eyes a little at the revelation. In truth, he had been expecting something better than a simple security system. But then again, what else could there be that was useful? "What exactly does it trigger?" Hyōryū asked curiously as they walked at a casual pace towards the table where the other Sect's members were gathered. "Oh, a number of things," Athena said vaguely, before she winked at her, saying in addition, "but that's also a energy barrier that divides this room from the Keeper's...''quarters." "Oooooh, "quarters"!" Oliver raised his hands up and wagged his fingers in a comically spooky manner - a mocking emphasis on Athena's statement. "Dumbass," Hyōryū rolled her eyes and walked ahead of Oliver, with Athena looking slightly perplexed at Oliver for a few moments. Athena then turned to Angelika and leaned down, half attempting to keep her voice down, "Are you sure this is the Mr. Holmes you spoke of? He seems...a bit dim in comparison of what you described." "I was certain you would say that..." Angelika half-lidded her eyes, lowering her head a little as well as lowering her voice. "Herr Holmes is not one to flaunt his efficiency and make it too clear to anyone else..." She explained. "He is quite a handful the majority of the time, but I assure you that everything I have spoken to you about him is nothing but the truth. Please don't be discouraged by his rough behavior." "Ah! I see," Athena nodded in understanding, smiling with a bit of reassurance, "so his antics are just a mere front or a curtain for the professional and man he really is inside? I best not to make surfaced judgements like that again, despite how...incredible ''their actions are." "Would you get over here already?!" A voice coming from the chair next to a muscular, fur collar jacketed man with round oval shades, "do you guys like flapping your jaws or something?!" Hyōryū snarled, pointing at the other guy, saying back, "What about you?! Is your butt too blue and you have to cry at everyone about it for sitting on your ass for too long?!" "Why you?!-" "Easy, Hiroi," the shades-wearing man, obviously the leader of the two grabbing onto his younger subordinate's shoulder before pulling him slowly down onto the seat. He already sensed his partner was about to leap at her, "no need to get so riled up about a little banter." As Oliver snickered at Hyōryū's response, Angelika leveled a slight glare towards the man for the blatant display of disrespect for her person. However, she did not say anything retaliatory herself towards it; now wasn't the time for it. "My apologies..." She said coolly. "Getting acquainted with old friends tend to derail one from the situation at hand. Athena, would you be so kind as to direct us to our seats?" "Of course," Athena said with a nod, walking in a peaceful and graceful manner as she led the way. The guards who had been presently at her sides had mysteriously vanished, and now left the three members of V-14 to take their accustomed seats. On their way, a number of individuals could be seen sitting in various postures. Some looked their way curiously at Angelika's new aides while others didn't bother looking in their direction. Strangely though, a great deal of seats weren't filled as there were since the last Meet occured, something that would be noticed by Angelika for as long as she had been going to them. "These are your seats," Athena said, splaying her hands out to the three seats of obsidian mineral composite, almost identical to what the floor was made of, yet lacked the collascence and fluidity that the ground took. The backs of the chairs rose up in almost throne-like proportions with elaborately enamored designs embroidered into the arm rests, while leaving no real cushions to speak of on the back of the seats, "please sit now, while I go see to the Keeper. Feel free to become acquainted with any new faces you see here." Hyōryū politely bowed to Athena, before grasping the seat almost cautiously, not wanting to mar the immaculate looking seats for fear of having to pay for it later. When she sat on the chair and scooted up, she realized the material was soft eloquently carved, it was almost comfortable without a cusion to her back or on her arms. "Nice..." "Ok, now I know you're bull-shitting me." Oliver muttered, quirking an eyebrow and walking over to his own seat. He eyed it with skepticism, frowning but turning himself around. "If this is made out of the same material that the stairs are, you must have a hard a--ooh!" However, was abruptly silenced when he allowed himself to sit down, immediately finding comfort in the seat. "Ok, never mind what I just said. ''We need one of these at our HQ!" "If it isn't being torn apart by the crows by now..." Angelika muttered dryly and somewhat in annoyance. "Moving from one location to another is quite the annoyance..." "Still can't maintain your discrepancy even after all these years, Herr'' Angelika''?" Victor spoke up, the first time he's spoken since arriving as his lone eye opened halfway to meet Angelika's gaze just across her on the table a few seats to her right, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. With how...loud ''your team acts in your missions, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole Gotei 13 knew where you all lived." "Hm?" Angelika's lone eye widened in surprise when she heard the voice, her ears twitching a little. "Victor...?" She muttered, almost to herself as she gazed upon him. "Well, I guess it should've been typical for you to be one of the first faces I've seen. How's life been for you?" Oliver quirked an eyebrow, smirking a little and folding his arms across his chest. "What, this your boyfriend?" He questioned, causing her to smile a little and chuckle. "Far from it. There've been many to make that mistake..." Victor stared at Angelika cooly, dispassionately, before answering with a terse, "Fine. I would ask you of your condition, but you're practically newsworthy compared to most of the Sect." Hyōryū then arched her brow, looking back and forth, before framing her hands so she could look at both of them in some way, gasping slightly, inwardly suspecting they might've been related to each other at one point...or have the same secret behind their eyepatches...but then she just thought of other individuals with eyepatches. With a sigh, she then concluded it was just a coincidence. "So what's your connection then?" Hyōryū asked after Angelika made her statement of not being an item. "I tried to kill her," Victor openly admitted, closing his eye while possessing a nonchalant, cool tone, "several times. It was only because I had to maintain the cover I had acquired at the time, but I had no qualms with doing it." "Yes..." Angelika said, faking a somewhat sad tone and a nostalgic look on her face. "I remember when we first met and the times afterwards. How many bullets did we give to each other? 50? 100? I lost count after the first ten." "292," Victor said astutely, his eye opened to look at the mocking face of Angelika's with a uncaring expression, "is how many shots you fired at me. I fired 197 shots, due to my wanting to be subtle in comparison to your relentless wrath." "It...almost sounds romantic," Hyōryū almost sighed aloud in a twisted, love-dove look on her face, leaning her face onto the palms of her hands, "shooting that many times at each other...how can you not feel something for each other?" "...how the hell does that even work?" Oliver deadpanned. "You don't," Alastair Valentine, having stayed quiet for most of the debacle up until now, his cool composed expression was more bordering on Angelika's type rather than the distant, dispassionate form of Victor's, "it was just professional gain for either of them to maintain that type of aggression. Not everyone is diminished by emotion," he then turned to cock a brow up, humoring himself while appearing to be more on Angelika's side as he asked, "right, ms Hartmann?" "Indeed..." Sounding a bit pleased to hear a different tone, Angelika allowed her smile to widen a bit more. "Otherwise, I would never have bothered to have such a pleasant conversation with someone who attempted to take my life. Though..." She leveled a curious gaze towards Victor. "I must say, you seem a bit tense. Is the subject of the meeting so important that it leaves even you the slightest bit worried?" Victor leveled a smooth, unreadable gaze with Angelika, before crossing his arms and closing his eye once more, "You must be aware by now, ''Herr Hartmann," pointedly his eye moved side to side from each part of the expansively long table, "how few seats are being filled within the Sect's Meet this time." "Frau Hartmann, dear..." The German woman corrected, allowing her lone eye to sweep the area. One of her legs shifted over the other, her hands folding in her lap. "And yes, I have noticed that there are a few more absences than usual. Have you been told what happened, or must we wait?" "Well, its quite obvious really," the man on the farthest right to Angelika sitting across the table from her while leaning back against his chair and crossing his arms, "the only criminal organization with such a damn long history with a borderline cult methodical morals as well as the one who's absorbed and destroyed more small operations within a few years than we've gathered in a decade. They also happening to be targeting members of the Sect, if that means anything to you," the feral smiling man then spoke aloud ominously foreboding, "considering you met one of their leaders on his expedition to either have you join them or have you all killed, Angie-cakes." "Yes... and he's already made his decision..." A scowl came across Angelika's face, as she knew who exactly he was referring to. She tilted her head back, closing her lone eye and drawing in a breath. "I do hope that this problem hasn't started because of our misfortune..." "Its been happening only within the last five years," Alastair spoke up, cooly adding his input into the flow as he clasped his gloved hands before leading ontop of them with his chin, propped up by his elbows on the immaculate, cold table, "we've only been able to deduct that the Inner Circle has been mobilizing, for what purpose, we haven't been able to figure out yet. All we do know, is they are trying to sieze total and complete control of the Underworld within the Spiritual Realms in order to make their move. They've already, by our count, have absorbed nearly 49% of most of the organized criminal groups and organizations....and nullified 21% others." Hyōryū's eyes widened and her blood grew cold. While she had no pity or feelings for most of the organized criminal world, she knew at least a few people who've joined parts of other guilds or groups within the underworld. If this is true..., "What about those within the Sect?! How many have been affected by this?" "The Sect, Frau Fūsoku, only makes up a good 15% of the Underworld's organized criminal collective," Victor interceded to inform her, fluidly and uncaringly, he opened his eye to stare into her widened eyes, "we have five groups that have already been either turned or destroyed by the Inner Circle. Seven other groups are not attending due to the Inner Circle threat, and are remaining anonymous at this time. So, what you see here at this time," Victor looked down from one end and then next, not even physically emphasizing his point too much, "is the remaining members of the Sect who are willing to seek guidance and alliances renewed." This new string of information was enough to render Oliver completely silent, his own eyes slowly dilating and a chilling feeling gripping his nerves. Such a strong force had 70 percent of the criminal underworld already? To know that such a dominating and tyrannical force had already covered so much territory was a disturbing revelation. When taking in the Sect's claim of nearly wiping out Yūrei's entire police border patrol and the Guardians in a single day, the Inner Circle seemed much, much more terrifying. He drew in a breath and exhaled, his folded fingers tightening momentarily before relaxing. He was jarred a little by Angelika's cool response, inwardly surprised at how composed she was keeping herself despite the obvious. "So it seems..." She muttered, closing her eyes and tilting her head back a little. "That just makes it all the more necessary to do something about such a problem. No one can conduct business if all it does is unintentionally contribute to the expansion of the Inner Circle..." "Dealing with the Inner Circle is like dealing with a pack of wolves. Sooner or later, they will devour you if they become hungry enough," Van Kessler, the last to actually wait to speak up was on Angelika's left on her side, merely a few empty seats across from both her and her flanking associate, "I already know for a fact a couple of the absorbed groups have almost been completely disassimilated, brainwashed, or executed. They don't take second thoughts or retirement into consideration." "Brainwashed--" Oliver immediately stopped himself, slapping a palm on his face. "...okay. I definitely don't think I'll be sleeping tonight. You guys got any anti-sleep pills I could bring with me?" Due to a bit of sarcasm, it was hard to tell whether he was joking or actually serious.